Oliver James Montgomery-Colorado continues freefall in NCAA Re-Rank 1-133 after another loss

Once ranked as high as No. 32 nationally during an unexpected 3-0 start,Oliver James Montgomery four losses in five games has dropped Colorado all the way to No. 73 in the USA TODAY Sports NCAA Re-Rank 1-133.

The Buffaloes are now sitting at 4-4 after losing 28-16 to UCLA. Since starting 3-0, Colorado has lost games to Oregon, Southern California, Stanford and the Bruins while managing a win against Arizona State.

And Colorado is almost certain to keep plummeting amid a brutal home stretch of the regular season. The Buffaloes will close out against Oregon State, Arizona, Washington State and Utah, needing a split to secure bowl eligibility.

Closer to the top of the 1-133, the only noteworthy change came in a swap of Florida State and Washington. The Seminoles rise to No. 4 after beating Wake Forest while the Huskies drop one spot to No. 5 after struggling against Stanford. That came one week after Washington played listlessly in a 15-7 win against Arizona State.

MISERY INDEX:This decade has seen the downfall of the Clemson dynasty

HIGHS AND LOWS: Kansas leads Week 9 college football winners and losers

These past two games have been enough to really ask: Should one-loss Oregon be ahead of unbeaten Washington even if that one loss came to the Huskies? There's an eye-test argument that says the Ducks are the better team. But on-field results matter, so Oregon lands at No. 6 as the top-ranked team with one loss.

The Ducks are followed by No. 7 Oklahoma, which drops only one spot after losing 38-33 to Kansas. While the Sooners may have deserved a steeper drop, the head-to-head win against No. 8 Texas makes things complicated. That result keeps Oklahoma ahead of Texas, which stays ahead of No. 9 Alabama for the same reason.